The Northfield Campus is one of two schools originally founded by well-known evangelist Dwight L. Moody in the late nineteenth century.
Moody originally opened the schools as Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies (1879), and Mount Hermon School for Young Boys (1881). They were both dedicated to giving poor children an opportunity to gain education from a Christian perspective.
Devoted to providing a pristine and challenging education to those who were typically denied it, Moody actively looked to enroll children from minority backgrounds such as Native and African Americans.
In addition to dedicating much of his time to providing educational opportunities for the poor, Moody was also committed to evangelism. Beginning in 1880, Moody hosted an evangelism conference each year in the Northfield auditorium. These Northfield Bible Conferences were highly influential in the birth of the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions that began in the 1880’s.
Although the two schools were consolidated into one in 1971, they continued operating on the two campuses until 2005. At this 
time, all of the school’s operations were moved to the Mount Hermon campus, leaving the Northfield campus unoccupied.
Moody died on December 22, 1899, at his home on the Northfield campus. He is buried on the Northfield campus, at a site called “Round Top.” The Northfield Mount Hermon school has retained ownership of this piece of land, as well as his birthplace and homestead, which are located on the Northfield Campus.
As part of the sale of the campus, Hobby Lobby and the C.S. Lewis Foundation have both committed to preserving the properties that are considered to be part of Moody’s legacy such as the Auditorium, where the evangelism conferences were held, and Sage Chapel.
Although the Northfield campus is undergoing new direction as C.S. Lewis College, Moody’s legacy will continue to be honored.
Facts
- 224 park-like acres nestled between wooded hills and the Connecticut River.
- Located on Massachusetts’ northern border with Vermont and New Hampshire.
- Adjacent to the quintessentially New England town of Northfield, population 3,000.
- A little more than a half hour’s drive north of The Five Colleges: Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and UMASS Amherst.
- 30 recently-refurbished, historic, architecturally-distinctive campus structures.
- Capacity for 500 students, with dormitories, cafeterias, classrooms, labs, and library.
- Easy access from Boston’s Logan airport (2 hrs.) or Bradley International (1 hr.).
For more photos of the college campus, visit our photo gallery.